After Game Over
by Serieve
Summary: AVALANCHE fails to save the planet. In a last ditch effort, the planet sends Aerith's memories back in time: she dies, and then finds herself in the church again! Knowing what happens, how much will she be able to change? What events must she repeat?


**Disclaimer:** I do no own Final Fantasy VII. I do not own the Final Fantasy VII characters or settings or concepts. Meaning I am not Squaresoft or Square Enix. This applies to every chapter of this story.

After Game Over

By Serieve

**Chapter 1: Death is Only a Beginning**

The sword slid through her back as if the layers of skin, muscle, and bone were no more than tissue paper. Her body arched with the impact. The sensation caught her utterly by surprise, a roaring pain clawing through her stomach into every limb, until her toenails curled and her eyelids fluttered. Cloud's face contorted with shock, mirroring her own. She saw herself in his eyes. Part of her knew what was happening even before she could put it into words.

There had been no warning, no foreboding. Simply a sudden loss, like the ground slipping out from under her: these were her last moments. Her last thoughts. She focused on the world around her. A beautiful, underground city that glowed. White marble and reflected light, wavering. The blue-eyed person before her, beautiful and kind and strong, who would never spend time with her again. Who would not indulge in her little games or questions. Who would never accompany her on another date, or argue with her over what she should or should not do.

Distantly, she felt a boot between her shoulder blades. A sickening pull yanked her insides, from her stomach through her back. Her body arched and went numb. Something about her spinal chord? How ludicrous to think of such a thing now, when she could hear voices shouting in denial somewhere nearby—people she faintly recognized.

Cloud caught her and she glimpsed Holy bouncing against the stone altar, making a faint tink, tink. Wherever its destination, it was no longer her concern. The voices of the planet swelled into a mournful cry. They bundled up her shock and anxiety, until she felt peace settle over her, and she forgot even to try opening her eyes one last time.

_Tifa,_ the planet said softly, whispering in her ear. She realized that this was a consolation, and another distant worry left her. Dimly, she heard Sephiroth speaking to Cloud and felt the reply rumble against her cheek.

"She will never again laugh, cry, or get upset!"

The planet breathed a faint denial, and she felt herself growing closer to the voices, like a child returning to a parent's arms.

In her last moments, she thought she was only drifting to sleep, and wondered why someone close by was so distressed. She entertained the thought of waking to comfort him, talk to him, but she was so tired. Tomorrow, she thought, she would find who it was.

O.o.O.o.O

She found herself in the old church, kneeling before a measly patch of yellow lilies she'd agonized over for years. What little sun there was filtered through filthy stained glass windows. Crooked pews sat in rows behind her, and a large, antique chandelier hung precariously on a chain above the aisle. A rare wind, smelling of smog and metal, swept through the church.

_They failed_, the planet whispered.

A flood of memories hit her: the City of Ancients, the glowing memory-shells, the sparkling waters. The Temple of Ancients, full of musty stones and cloaked figures. The Midgar Serpent, skewered on a tree. A blue sky stretching forever beyond the walls of Midgar, so vast and frightening and unspeakably, amazing, exhilaratingly overwhelming.

She remembered that here was where she met Cloud for the first time, and because of him, she'd been through so many wonderful, painful, enjoyable, difficult times. She'd been to so many places and met so many people and learned so many things…

Where was everyone? Why was she here again? Her hands were empty, dirt under her fingernails. Something wasn't right. She looked up, but the hole in the roof was gone—as if Cloud had never fallen through it. _What's gong on?_ she wondered. Then she remembered Cloud's eyes staring in horror, and the sickening pull of Sephiroth's sword through her insides…

But her dress and the body underneath were both in one piece. No wound, no blood, and no scar.

_They failed!_ the planet insisted, demanding her attention.

She'd gone numb, her ears ringing. Her head was so full of memories and emotions and questions, it was hard to concentrate on the planet's voice. "Who failed?"

Her vision unfocused as the planet sent impressions of unfamiliar images: Cloud and the others lying at the core of the planet, staring up at a triumphant Sephiroth. The impending Meteor and its impact—a grinding agony that created whirlwinds of power and lifestream that mixed with alien winds. Even as the planet's energy poured into the wound—into Sephiroth—glowing strands of lifestream condensed into a ball the curled into itself, surrounded by Meteor's black winds. The ball glowed, turned white, and dispersed into a mist until everything was white, and she was here again.

Not only was she alive, sitting at the beginning of what would be the adventure of her life, she remembered everything. Her fists clenched, shoulders rigid. Her friends had died. She didn't understand everything of what happened—the planet wasn't able to communicate clearly with her—but she did understand that this was their last chance to save the planet and stop Sephiroth.

Before her thoughts could carry her any farther, Cloud crashed through the roof. Old wood shrieked as his weight broke through, rattling the windows and raining dirt and dust and wood chips. She ducked, covering her head, and his body thumped nearby. A plank of wood clattered after, splinters pelting her back and shoulders. The sound of raining debris and the tinkling chandelier lingered until all was silent.

Cloud lay on his back, covered in dirt, his face half obscured by blonde spikes. She scrambled to dust him off and check for injuries. He had scrapes, bruises, and burns, but nothing serious. She remembered that he'd been fine the first time, too. Nonetheless, she was still shocked he hadn't broken anything. Maybe being in SOLDIER had strengthened his bones, too?

She sat for long moments, staring.

His face looked the same, though unguarded. Less worried. Still handsome. Would he remember? Maybe she wouldn't have to do this alone. The image of him defeated at the planet's core rose again in her mind. She thought of his voice rumbling against her cheek, his arms a distant pressure around her shoulders. Her eyes burned. Here he was, alive and well. That meant the others must be fine, too. Tifa was probably worrying about him right now, wondering if he was dead.

Aeris quashed a pang of jealousy. Tifa did not deserve that—not after everything they had been through. _Would be_ going through.

Cloud's eyelashes fluttered.

_So quick! _she thought, leaning over him.

"Cloud?" she said. Her heart was pounding. His eyes opened, confused, and she didn't breathe. She stared intensely into the glowing blue—as striking as ever—and waited without air for a spark of recognition, some surprise. Anything.

He blinked, body twitching as he tried to sit up.

"Be careful!" she said, her hands encouraging him to stay down. "You took a long fall." He didn't seem to recognize her, but maybe… She peered into his face again. "Do you remember anything?"

Again he blinked, his gaze shifting from her to the ceiling—toward the reactor. "Where am I?"

She kept trying. "Do you remember where you were? What happened?"

His brow furrowed. "Did you call me Cloud?"

Her heart sank, fell, broke.

He didn't remember her. Didn't remember anything. Somehow, this was the loneliest she'd ever felt. Her throat tied itself into a hard knot that made speaking difficult. She smiled, laughing to work the knot loose. "No, I was… I was saying 'loud,' because it was so loud, and… now there are _clouds_ of dust. I guess."

It was a terrible lie. She was terrible at lying. He didn't reply.

When he sat up, she helped him, watching him take in the church.

Should she tell him what she knew? No, that was too much information. He didn't even know her. What had she said to him the first time? "You're— you're lucky the flowers cushioned your landing."

"Flowers?" His gaze fell on the blossoms crushed beneath him. He leapt to his feet, dusting himself off, and stumbled out of the flowerbed with a flurry of apologies.

She wanted to laugh. And she wanted to cry. What she did was smile, her eyes full of things she needed to hide, and she shook her head to show that it was okay—he didn't need to apologize.

He seemed to see her for the first time. "Are _you_ all right?" he asked, stepping closer with a lifted hand. "I didn't… hit you, did I?"

She turned her back to him, hands covering her face. She thought of the Temple of Ancients, the day that everything went mad: Cloud losing himself. Her hand reaching to touch his shoulder. His hands clutching his head, and then balling into fists, and then turning against her.

His face had been contorted with anger and confusion and desperation. She'd been shocked. Afraid. She crouched in the dirt at the bottom of the hole where a huge, impossible pyramid had just turned into a tiny black sphere that could end the world. Everyone was screaming, the planet was roaring, and everything hurt so much in so many ways.

She couldn't do this—she'd just _died _for planet's sake! What had she even really accomplished?

"I…" She broke her thoughts, taking deep, trembling breaths. Relaxing her shoulders. Wiping her face. This time she knew more. Things did not need to happen the same way twice. She turned to face him, a feeble smile on her face. It was obvious he'd been worried but felt awkward. "I'm sorry. It's just—the—the recent bombings have really… shaken me up a lot."

Realization dawned on his face. "We've met before," he said.

Her heart stopped.

"You're that flower girl," he said.

She suppressed a barrage of emotions. "Yep. Thanks for buying that flower." _And for falling through the roof. And for showing me the world. And for mourning my death…_

He scratched the back of his head and surveyed the church. "Where am I?"

She turned her back to him, pretending to tend the flowers while she collected herself. "Just an old church in Sector 5."

He looked at her. She ducked her head, sure that he would ask why she was acting so weird. She'd never been a good actor.

"You're here alone?" he said.

She blinked. This again? "I can take care of myself."

When she glanced at her arms, however, they were flabbier than she remembered. Her legs also felt less muscled, and she suppressed a sigh. She'd been wrong the first time; she wasn't strong at all, even if she had managed to hold her own in Midgar. She would have to build her skills back up as soon as possible if she hoped to keep pace with the others. Maybe now it would be a little easier, since she knew what to do and what the stakes were.

She made herself ask the next question. "Are you in Soldier?"

"Not anymore," he replied. "I'm a mercenary now. Sort of a jack-of-all-trades."

She smiled. Inevitably, her thoughts turned to Zack, but she let those thoughts go. Gongaga flashed through her mind, full of sad people in tiny, soot-stained houses, living next door to a graveyard. Zack's parents had looked at her with haunted eyes. She'd felt childish denial when they told her that he was dead.

She was not the same Aeris—not the same childish person anymore. She tried not to think of Zack kneeling beside her in this church, or of the way he used to smile.

"A jack-of-all-trades, huh?" she said, glancing at Cloud. "How about a deal?"

He turned to her, his eyes asking what she meant.

She stood. "You be my bodyguard, and I'll—"

She stopped, questioning her impulse to ask him on a date. Was it fair to hope that she would live this time? If Sephiroth wanted her dead, how was she going to stop him? Again, she recalled Cloud's voice against her cheek. _She will never again laugh, cry, or get upset!_ She thought of the play and the silly dragon and Cloud, petrified but trying to go along with it anyway.

She didn't want to die.

"In return, I'll go on a date with you," she finished, and a sick feeling grew in the pit of her stomach. What about Tifa?

Cloud gave her the same look—a mix of surprise and reluctance and worry. He didn't want to involve her, but she held out her hand before he could refuse. "Deal?"

Reno walked in at that moment, followed by two men in uniform. She glanced at them, secretly glad for the timing, and Cloud's eyes followed hers. His face set with determination. He shook her hand and nodded.

"There's a back door," she said, ignoring whatever it was that Reno said. "We can get out that way."

O.o.O.o.O

**Serieve: **Please bear with me—it's been a long time since I've done this. I want to write every day, so I'm hoping that if I have some online support—people who motivate me—then I can get into the habit of writing every day using fanfiction. I want this to be enjoyable, but I'm trying not to worry too much about quality. If you see any glaring problems though, please tell me!

I haven't planned any of this out, either, so don't be surprised if the plot goes weird places!

Thank you so much for reading!


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